Friday November 10, 2006 3:09 pm

Japanese Hospital Debuts Receptionist and Porter Bots

The Aizu Central Hospital in Aizu-Wakamatsu (124 miles north of Toyko) has introduced Japan’s first receptionist and porter robots created by Tmusk. The receptionist welcomes you and answers inquiries, while the two porters carry your bags and take visitors and patients wherever they need to go. The porters move at a max speed of about 1 mph, stand about 4 1/2 feet high, and can also alert you if you are about to bump into something or someone.
Hospital spokesperson Naoya Narita says, “By introducing them, we want to show the scene of a future hospital, where robots are getting along with patients and visitors.” At a cost of 60 million Yen (~$508,000), the hospital is hoping to add a third porter next year. At that price, they ought to wait for the bot that does bedpans.